The Visitor
by Fiona Sunshine
Summary: You promised we'd never have to see her again, Dad. You did. Derek, she's your mother.
1. The Big News

The MacDonald/Venturi family dinner was going fairly smoothly. Marti had only flung three string beans at Lizzie's head instead of her usual five or six, and the only teasing she had received from her older stepbrother, Derek, was asking if her obsession with health food was part of the South Bitch diet. If someone passing by had glanced through the window, they would have seen a more or less average looking family of seven eating dinner together. They _were_ a family, now; the distance that creates itself when non-blood related people live together had shriveled away to nothing. Derek had resumed his old habit of walking around in his boxers, and if Casey wanted to sing in the shower, she wasn't worried a Venturi would hear her anymore. The other day, Lizzie had even conned her stepfather out of ten bucks. They were as comfortable with each other as people could get, where the line between "stepfamily" and "biological family" became so fuzzy it couldn't even be pointed at.

After a heated conversation between Edwin and Lizzie about which sport was harder to play (hockey or soccer), George Venturi glanced up from his meal and cleared his throat.

"Well, kids, I have some news." He smiled, but Casey could see how strained and forced it was. She glanced at her mother, to see if she was well informed of this news, which she looked like she was. Instead of looking at her husband, she was avoiding eye contact and forcing potatoes down her throat. Casey raised her eyebrows. This didn't seem like happy news at all- no newborn babies or additions to the house or family vacations. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine," George said in his I'm-trying-so-hard-to-be-cheerful voice he used in conferences with Derek's teachers. "But we're going to have a visitor stay here. I'm not sure how long she'll be here, and she's coming on Monday." Monday! Today was Friday, for heaven's sake. Who was coming for such an unknown period of time in only three short days? "I know not everyone will be thrilled with this situation, but Abby's down on her luck, and –"

Derek shoved away from the table, hard. His plate shook; his glass of milk teetered so much that Casey whipped out a hand to steady it. "Fuck," he proclaimed, as he stood up angrily. Casey knew damn well who Abby was. Why the hell was she coming to stay _here_? She was George's ex-wife. Derek, Edwin, and Marti's mother.

"Derek, watch your language," Nora said quietly, still looking at her plate.

"Why is she coming here? I thought we never had to see her again. You promised, Dad. You did." Casey had never heard Derek's voice so accusing and pissed off and miserable all at the same time. She felt something on her side, and noticed that a frightened looking Marti was cuddling up to her. She put an arm around her and snuggled her close. It wasn't until then that she saw Edwin had left the table and gone to his room. He had a different kind of anger, one he didn't want seen.

But Casey was confused, above all else. She had never known why George had permanent custody over the kids. She knew it had been a messy divorce complete with family court trials, but that was about all she knew. She'd never heard Derek mention his mom. She'd never even seen a picture of Abby Venturi. Why hadn't she noticed this until now?

"Derek, listen. It's not going to be for very long - "

"Forget it, Dad. I'm staying at Sam's. You can let me know when she leaves." Derek turned to leave, and angrily stormed towards the front door.

"Derek," George called after him, his voice strained and pitiful. "She's your _mother_."

Derek turned, for only a split second. He caught eye contact with his dad, his eyes shooting and pissed off- calling his bluff. He gave a slight "_Ugh_" noise at the back of his throat before stalking out the door, slamming it shut behind him. The air in the dining room was now thick with anger and confusion. Casey shot a worried glance toward her mother, who had started calmly clearing the table but still avoided eye contact.

"I want Mommy to come," Marti whimpered to Casey. "I miss her."

"I know," Casey whispered to Marti, pulling her onto her lap. George sighed, stood up, and planted a kiss on his wife's cheek before going to Edwin's room.

"Mom?" Lizzie immediately burst. She was on the verge of tears, practically. She didn't exactly know why she was about to cry, but it was as if she had seen a huge storm off in the distance. She could feel the thunder, but the worst was yet to come. "Why is George's ex-wife coming here? And why does Derek hate her so much?"

Nora sighed and turned towards her daughters. She looked as if she had aged about 10 years in the past 10 minutes. She had bags under her eyes and looked close to tears herself. She was clutching a plate as if she were three years old, and it was her security blanket. Seeing her mom in such a state sent shivers up and down Casey's spine.

"Abby is, as George said, down on her luck. She was just evicted, and needs a place to sleep while she goes apartment hunting." Nora turned back to the dishes, and a wobbly voice came next. "And that's Derek's story to tell."


	2. House of Cards

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

In preparation for Abby's arrival, the entire house was being scrubbed down. The roar of the vacuum rang in Casey's ears as she tried to study, and she kept having Lemon Polish and a rag pushed at her like it was a proposal for a better life. She did, however grudgingly, help out. Talking to Derek was like talking to a brick wall. Casey knew asking him about his hatred for the woman that gave him birth would only result in him getting even more pissed off, and although she hadn't been exactly _told_ not to, she hadn't asked Edwin, Marti, or George. Derek was home for short bursts of time, to shower and watch half of a television show. Casey would see him and almost be surprised, as if a stranger with a sullen attitude had just walked into the house without ringing the doorbell. Derek was a sincere pain in the ass the majority of the time, but he was bursting with life and flavor. Now he was as hallow and lifeless as pictures in a coloring book- all the outlines drawn in, but the insides completely blank. He came in one day to find Casey in _his_ chair, and he didn't even try and make her move.

When George left to go and get Abby Monday night, the house felt like a ticking bomb. What was the matter with this woman? What made her so horrible that she turned Derek into a shell, and made Edwin spend the majority of his time in his room? Marti, however, was so excited for the arrival she almost balanced out her brothers' moodiness. She bounced around the house, taping up pictures she had colored and singing extra loud. She even grabbed Casey's sleeves and made her bend down so that she could whisper in her ear that her mother's favorite color used to be lavender.

And suddenly, she was there. She sashayed into the house as if she owned the place. Her thick red hair hung in rope-like locks, and Casey felt a smile creep on her face as she realized how much she looked like her oldest son. Her dark brown eyes sparkled as she tossed her bags on the sofa and looked around the house.

"Well!" She exhaled. "Isn't this nice!" She turned around and laid eyes on Nora. Casey instantly froze. If this woman said anything negative about her mother, she swore to God…

"You must be Nora." She smiled warmly and Casey relaxed the slightest. It was as if the whole house had been holding it's breath, and suddenly exhaled. "You have such a lovely home."

Nora nodded and smiled softly. "Thank you. It's a pleasure to have you here, Abby."

"And what a lovely family!" Abby spun around and zeroed in on Casey and Lizzie. "You're daughters are the spitting image of you. You two must be Carrie and Leah?"

"Casey and Lizzie," Casey corrected her kindly. "I'm Casey, and this is Lizzie. It's so nice to meet you." Lizzie nodded in agreement, but Casey could see in her eyes that she was nervous.

"Right back atcha, darlings!" Abby grinned and looked down, to find a suddenly silent and scared looking Marti. Abby's eyes filled with tears, and Casey had never seen such a sad sight. She slowly crouched down to Marti's level and held open her arms.

"Hi, baby," she whispered in a voice that was almost leathery. Marti, who had been jumping up and down around the house as if it were her own private trampoline, now stood stock still and frozen. Casey had expected her to scream with joy, fling herself into her mom's arms, and never let go. But she now slowly walked backwards, not yet breaking eye contact with Abby, before turning around and running faster than Casey had ever seen her upstairs and into her room. There was the sound of a heavy slam, and nobody moved. It was a house of cards, and the slam of the door had uneasied it. Now, one wrong move and the whole world came tumbling down.

Abby looked down, all the happiness gone from her eyes. Instead, she started crying, silently and softly. George cleared his throat and walked over towards her.

"Give her time, Abby," he choked out. "She just remembers…the wrong things. She'll come around. She's been so excited…"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." Abby sniffed, sighed, and glanced back up. Order hadn't quite been restored, but Casey didn't realize until then that she'd been completely holding her breath, and that Lizzie had quietly slipped into her own bedroom. Abby put on a fake smile. "Where are Edwin and Derek? I can't wait to see my boys!"

George sighed and whispered something into Abby's ear. The fake smile faded and the tears came back. It was like watching someone get embarrassed on TV- Casey just wanted to plug her ears and run away. So she quickly excused herself- for homework, of course- and went upstairs. But instead of going to her own bedroom, she went into the one next to it. Edwin's.

"Hey," she said quietly, opening the door slightly while giving two quick knocks. "You know your mom's here, right?" He was laying on his bed, playing game boy. Besides a short nod, he completely ignored her.

Casey entered the room, that had the stench of boy. Dirty clothes were laying all over the floor and posters of half naked women and sports teams covered the walls. God, he was going to grow up and be a Derek clone. She gingerly sat on the bed and swallowed. "Look, Edwin, can I ask you something?"

"Depends." He shut off his game boy and carelessly chucked it into the nearest pile of clothes. He laid flat on his back and stared at the ceiling. "What does it have to do with?"

Casey looked down. "Your mom."

"Then no, you can't."

"_Edwin_. Come on, you have to give me something." She crossed her arms. She could see herself driving straight towards butting into something she shouldn't, but she had to know. She had lived an entire weekend in suspense, and the woman seemed perfectly nice, besides the whole devastated that her children weren't excited to see her after such a long absence thing.

"No, I don't. I promised I would never tell."

"Who?" Casey pressed on. "Who did you promise?"

Edwin turned toward her, looking furious. "_Derek_. Now leave."

Casey stood in a huff and flounced toward the door before turning on her heel. "My parents got divorced too. And I was completely pissed. But I still love my dad and I love seeing him. I don't see why you guys are so rude to your own mother, who obviously cares about you –"

"Cares about us? Bullshit," Edwin yelled. Casey raised her eyebrows in shock- she'd never heard Edwin swear before. "Casey, just shut up and go away. You have no idea what you're talking about, what we've been through, what we grew up with. This is a Venturi thing. You're not a Venturi and FYI? You never will be. You're not going to understand so just stop trying to."

Casey felt like she'd been slapped in the face. She and Edwin didn't always get along- he tended to take Derek's side in _everything_. But after she'd finally start to feel as if maybe she did belong, as if maybe they were a family? Those words hurt worse than any sticks or stones could.

So she did what she was told: turned around and left.


	3. Going Limp

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in forever. My bad. But thanks for the reviews darlings.

The house might as well have gone back to right after George and Nora had wed. Everyone was on edge, tiptoeing around. Edwin was avoiding his mother, Casey was avoiding the entire Venturi clan, and Derek was avoiding everybody in general. Abby, however, didn't seem fazed- she also didn't seem to be going apartment hunting, either. She mostly laid around on the couch all day, watching the shopping network and drinking beer. Casey had been told that this was temporary- that Abby was in-between places, and this was like a free hotel for her, minus the room service. She prayed that Abby wouldn't go all Zack and Cody on them and end up staying for longer than wanted. She wasn't wanted, that much was clear. But Casey didn't feel very wanted, either. That, at least, they had in common.

Casey heard things, too, at night. Arguments. Mostly between George and her mother, but one loud one between George and Abby.

"She's your ex-wife, George," Nora had said wistfully. "And the kids aren't ready yet. I don't like seeing them like this. She doesn't even seem like she's changed…"

"She has," George had responded fiercely. "I swear, Nora. She just really needs a place right now."

_If you hurt my mother,_ Casey thought to him angrily, _I will kick your ass from here to Jupiter._ She couldn't really kick George's ass, but she liked the thought of it. Him suddenly developing rekindled feelings for Abby would ruin the structure that had taken so long to built, that had finally seemed strong enough to withhold winds. But not, apparently, the breeze of Abby.

The one between George and Abby didn't have the same tone. It was laced with accusations from George, but Abby was putting up a metal wall of defense.

"You hid bottles, Abby. You didn't think Nora would notice? You promised you were done. Look how far you went, do you really want to go falling backwards? Or did you ever really crawl up?"

"I'm trying, George, god damnit. It's not easy. My own kids hate me. I don't have a house, or a job, or anything. I have absolutely nothing." She wasn't crying, though. She almost sounded far away, as if she were trying to remember something she'd been told a very, very long time ago.

"Then get something. Get off our couch and go find a job, Abby, because your welcome is wearing. You've been here a week and a half, and in case you haven't noticed, the kids can tell nothing's changed. I wish I had been able to tell, too." Casey inhaled sharply. Was he kicking her out? Was she finally going to leave? Was their family going to go back to the normal kind of chaos, with Derek throwing parties and Lizzie having arguments with school friends?

"I will, George. Maybe tomorrow." She heard Abby cough and relax back into the couch. Casey rolled over in her bed, and wondered if the entire house was awake. It was like the itchy uncomfort you get from watching people embarrass themselves on TV- she felt as if this were her problem, instead of theirs.

That night, two hours later, a loud shrilling woke Casey. She gasped when she realized it was the fire alarm. It must not be working, that was all…but then she smelled it. The thick, black smoke. It was in the air. It was in the house. It was in her life.

She jumped out of bed and remembered to slightly tap the doorknob before opening her door, to make sure there was no fire on the other side. When she was certain it was fine, she left her room and bolted down the stairs.

No one was down there, except for Abby. There was a pot of boiling water on the oven, which was now ablaze. Flames licked their way onto the kitchen curtains. Casey screamed and ran for Abby, whose head was laying down on the kitchen table. She held in her hand an empty bottle of…vodka. God, did George and her mom even _buy_ vodka?

"Wake up!" She yelled, wondering why the fire alarm had woken only her. She grabbed Abby's shoulders and shook them. "Wake up, Abby! We need to get out!" But she wouldn't move.

Lizzie and Edwin ran down the stairs at the same time. "Casey! What the…"

"Get outside, NOW! No questions, no complaints! Just go!" Faces white, her younger sister and stepbrother obeyed her and dashed outside. She saw Lizzie grab the phone, and yelled after her to dial 911. "Wake up! Mom! George! Marti!" She shrieked up the stairs. She ran back towards Abby. Shit, shit, the cupboards were lighting up. She hadn't realized she was sobbing until she saw tears drip down on Abby's hair. She couldn't just leave her there. Why the fuck were her parents and stepsister such heavy sleepers? But Marti, she was at a slumber party, she reminded herself. And Derek was probably spending yet another night at Sam's. So it was just her parents. She needed to get them, so they could help her with Abby. Or should she just run outside? She had always been told that in the case of a fire, run outside and take nothing. But that hadn't meant people, had it?

"Casey!" She spun around and saw Derek standing there. "What the hell?" Casey couldn't speak, her throat was closing up and she was getting dizzy from smoke. She pointed wordlessly towards his mother, who was still unconscious. "Casey! Derek!" Her mother and George dashed down the stairs, her mom crying almost as hard as her. "What are you doing down here? Get outside _now!_" Casey remembered barking the same instructions at Edwin and Lizzie, and how thankful she had been that they had just left. She silently ran outside, coughing up smoke. She heard sirens and felt Lizzie throw herself at her.

"Casey," sobbed Lizzie. "Is mommy coming out?"

"She's fine," Casey whispered, stroking Lizzie's hair. No one knew but her, why the fire had started. She felt almost personally responsible. As if on cue, Nora kicked open the door, which was starting to burn, and dashed outside. Right behind her was George, Abby draped across his shoulder. Nora held open her arms for her daughters, but only Lizzie flung herself into them. Lizzie needed to be attached to someone, she needed someone to give her a back rub and tell her everything would be okay. Casey needed the opposite. She needed all of the false "okay" sayings to disappear.

Casey looked up and saw Mrs. Hutcherson, who lived next door, hugging Edwin and giving him fruit snacks. A bright red fire truck and an ambulance pulled up in front of the house. George talked quickly with the chief, while the other fire fighters hurried into the house with hoses. Abby was being loaded onto a stretcher. Off to the side of the house was her oldest stepbrother, standing and just staring at the house, his eyes wide. His hands were stuffed in his plaid pajama bottoms. Casey wondered, for an instant, why he wasn't at Sam's, before walking towards him.

For nearly the first time in her life, Derek didn't greet her with a sarcastic comment. He just sort of sighed, and Casey realized he was silently crying.

"Derek…"

"Don't." His words were harsh and cold. "You see, Casey? You see why we hate her so much? This is all she does. Drink. She gets so drunk, she forgets who she is, forgets who we are. You have no idea what that's like. To look into your mom's eyes and not even fucking recognize her. She got so drunk once, she threw a bottle at me. My arm was bleeding from shards stuck in it. Dad packed up the car, and us, and we left. We went to the stupid fucking custody trial, and she sat there and blabbed about how much she loved me. About how she would change. She didn't change, because people never change, but my dad's too much of a sappy dumbass to see that." He was on a roll now. He wasn't really talking to her, as much as playing the story to himself, over and over again. "My dad promised Marti, and Edwin, and even me that we'd be safe and never have to be with her again. I hate her. Now she's here and she's ruined everything. I hate her. I hate her I hate her I- "

Casey threw her arms around Derek and she buried her head in his shoulder. He tried to shake free, he ordered her to stop it, but he finally went limp and put his arms around her too.


	4. Rebuild

Miss Ginny Granger- woohoo! I didn't think anyone would catch that, nice job. Degrassi's one of my faves, that situation was the total inspiration for this story.

A/N: Thanks so much for the AWESOME reviews!!! You guys are great. This is the last chapter, so enjoy. Sorry, but I don't like overly long stories.

Abby was in the hospital.

Casey sat in the waiting room with her knees tucked up to her chin. She knew her mom and stepfather hadn't wanted her to come, but she had anyway. Lizzie, Marti, and Edwin were at Emily's for a while, and George and Nora were talking in hushed tones to a nurse. Derek sat two seats down from her, staring upwards. He looked as if he were having a silent conversation with God.

George walked towards the two teens and kneeled down in front of them, with Casey's mother standing behind him, a hand resting on his shoulder.

"Casey," he said quietly, "I need a moment with my son."

"Of course," she murmured, and stood to walk away. _I'm a part of your family_, she wanted to tell him. _I can handle this._ But she knew that arguments were the last things George needed right now, so she walked towards the water fountain.

By the fountain was a huge white bulletin board, with pictures of smiling kids. Some were missing hair, teeth, even legs; but they were all grinning cheerfully at the camera. She ran her hand across a picture of a little girl with bright red hair and no front teeth, in a white hospital gown. Her lips were smiling but her eyes were not- they were weak and weary, as if any light behind them had burned out a long time ago.

All of a sudden, Derek was next to her, getting a drink. When he was done, he wiped his mouth, exhaled, and leaned against the bulletin board, not making eye contact.

"My dad," he said matter-of-factly, "wants me to go and talk to her. He says it'd give me some closure. Whatever the fuck that means." He looked at his hands. "He wants me to tell her…what I think about what happened. And to tell her she needs to leave."

Casey swallowed. That was a huge responsibility for a 16 year old boy, even one who thought he could tackle the entire world.

"Come with me?"

She was surprised he had asked, and she could tell it was killing him. He couldn't even look at her, his eyes were darting everywhere. It was quick and short, and if she said no, he would pretend brush it off and do it alone. She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to say that this was something he had to do by himself. But she also knew that this was an invitation. To share this burden, and by doing so become a real part of his family. He needed her, as much as he didn't want to need her.

So she nodded.

They walked into the cramped hospital room together. Abby was lying on the bed, with lots of beeping monitors around her. It was scary, way too scary for Casey. For a moment she imagined her own mother lying there, but quickly pushed the thought out of her head in fear that she would start crying. But a part of her felt numb, like she was watching a movie starring her stepbrother.

"Derek," she whispered, trying to sit up. "And Carly. So nice of you to come."

She didn't bother to correct her.

"Mom…" Derek cleared his throat. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Oh, honey, I'm glad you're okay too. This was all just one big accident. But don't you worry about me, I'll be out of here in no time."

He tensed up at that word, accident, Casey noticed. She wanted the world to open up and swallow her, right then and there. Why, oh why had Derek made her do this? "Just like the bottle, huh."

Abby licked her lips and looked down. "I thought we'd put that in the past, Derek. Don't drag up old garbage."

"Garbage?" His voice was strained. "It wasn't garbage to me, Mom, it was sort of a big deal. In case you don't remember, that's what made Dad finally take us and leave. And now I've got a new family, with a new mom and two new sisters." His voice cracked. "I'm glad it happened."

Tears filled Abby's eyes. God, Casey wanted to run out so bad. "You don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do. Living with you is like living with an accident waiting to happen. And…the accident happened. So you have to go." Now Derek had tears in his eyes. One fell out, but he quickly wiped it away. Casey sunk into a chair and held her face in her hands.

"Derek." Abby sat all the way up now, quicker and begging. "Derek, please."

"No, mom."

"Tell your father. Tell him I can do better, please, I have no where else to go…" She started crying softly. "I love you."

Derek took a shaky breath and looked out the door. "Yeah, I know. But until you get some help, I can't see you again. Maybe that'll…motivate you, or whatever. I just wanted to tell you that…I'm done with the accidents. And until they stop happening, I'm done with you."

The room was silent.

"Casey, let's go." He finally turned to look at her, and their eyes met. But instead of sadness, Casey saw nothing but bravery in her stepbrother's eyes. Bravery and honesty and yes, just a tinge of sadness. But he was doing the right thing.

Before going to the hotel where they were staying, the group of four drove back to their house to check the progress made by the builders and volunteers. They tried to be at the house as often as possible, but volunteers often rushed them off, telling them to go spend time with their family.

The entire kitchen was burnt to a crisp. Black, smelly ashes lay everywhere. There were huge holes where the fridge and oven had been.

"Honey? This is your house, right?" A kind looking woman gently handed her a grocery bag. "It's just things from the kitchen that survived. Thought maybe you and your parents could go through it."

Casey smiled kindly. "Thank you. Thank you so much…for everything."

"Oh, darling," the lady replied, "It's not a problem at all."

Casey walked out to the front step and sat down, opening the bag. Inside was a clay lizard magnet made by Lizzie, half melted. A metal heart that had hung on the wall. And a photograph, with the edges burned. _It made it through,_ Casey thought to herself, looking at the family picture. It wasn't perfect- She and Lizzie were scrunched up against each other, Marti was giggling, Edwin was looking at something out of view of the camera. Derek looked bored, as usual.

Speaking of the devil, her stepbrother plopped down next to her and sighed. "So. Did your mom or my dad tell you if we're planning on moving? They're all acting like I'm a giant basket case or something."

Casey smiled gently at the picture in her hands, passing it on to Derek. "No. I believe Mom's words were, 'We're going to take what we have and rebuild. From the ground up.' "

Derek took the picture, and after studying it for a moment, turned to look at Casey. His eyes met hers, and this time, they were filled with gratitude, and, surprisingly, love.

"Don't tell anyone I said this. But you're not so bad, Casey MacDonald. Sometimes." He stood up, wiped the dirt off his jeans, and wandered off towards where his dad was staying.

Casey tucked the photo into her purse and smiled. From Derek, that was as close as he would come to an "I love you."

Hey. She'd take what she could get.

The End…thank you all so much for reading!


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